ASBURY PARK – As a surfer, Marilyn Schlossbach learned how to pick herself back up after wiping out, shaking off the damage and swimming back out into the swells.

When Hurricane Sandy caused catastrophic damage to her businesses on the Asbury Park boardwalk, she wasted no time wading back in.

On Tuesday night, Schlossbach’s Langosta Lounge restaurant opened its doors to the public to celebrate the anniversary of the 2012 storm.

“We’ve waited so long to be done with our rebuild, and now we reopened the last portion of the pavilion just a week ago,” Schlossbach said. “We want to move forward with a positive commitment.”

Schlossbach had good reason to party Tuesday night, the $500,000 project to repair and rebuild the pavilion that contains her businesses – The Asbury Park Yacht Club, Pop’s Garage and Langosta Lounge – was finally completed last week.

“It was quite an undertaking during the summer season, to rebuild and rehire,” Schlossbach said. “We’ve been strong enough to weather the storm, the team around us, our friends, family, neighbors and employees, they all really came together.”

Beth Weaver, of Ocean Township, dined on hors d’oeuvres with her husband, Mark.

“I think that Marilyn having all of her venues open is a positive thing work celebrating,” Weaver said. “We’re always trying to go to local places, and her food is fantastic. She is Asbury Park, seeing her get back on her feet is like watching the locals come back from the storm.”

Tuesday night the restaurant served free tapas and entrees and played host to a jazz band. At Schlossbach’s nearby Asbury Park Yacht Club, people gathered for drinks and a free screening of “A Storm to Remember,” a narrative documentary about the hurricane’s aftermath.

“We needed to let go of all of this, it was tough on all of us,” Schlossbach said. “I’m trying to make a party out of it.”

Louie and Cara Daprio were outside Langosta Lounge as the sun set.

“I have a lot of respect for Marilyn,” Clara said. “She always goes out and helps the community, feeds the needy during the holidays. That is why we come and eat here.”

Schlossbach’s home, above her Normandy Beach restaurant, Labrador Lounge, was also damaged by the storm, displacing her family for several months.

Schlossbach has credited the non-profit charity Waves for Water for helping her navigate the hurricane recovery process.

Outside on the boardwalk, around 100 New Jerseyans gathered to mark the storm’s anniversary by shining flashlights into the sky.

“I never thought a storm like that would hit here,” Beth Weaver said. “It’s made us so grateful for what we have.”

While flashlights were free to registered participants and available for sale, many brought their own. For some, they were the same flashlights used to find their way through their darkened homes during the prolonged, widespread power outages after the storm.

“We came here to support other people, we were pretty lucky during the storm,” Clara Daprio said. “We’re also celebrating that we survived the year. I have friends that are still having a hard time.”

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Barbara Miller, of Long Branch, divided her time between the ceremony and the Langosta Lounge party.

“We lost part of our roof and two trees, but the storm recovery was pretty easy for us,” Miller said. “I imagine five years from now, we’re going to remember the spirit and cooperation of the people, not the storm itself.”

While the storm’s destruction will some day be cleared away, and the Jersey Shore will inevitably recover, Hurricane Sandy’s emotional legacy has been etched on the area’s residents.

Jeff Lowther, of Eatontown, was working for Shoprite when the storm hit.

“I was without electricity for eleven days and I lost everything in my house, but I went to work everyday,” Lowther said. “We took care of the people who came in from out of state to help get the electricity back on and clear away the trees. I think a lot of people will remember the storm years from now, but hopefully they will all come back.”